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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
(physical book, bought at half price books)
standard disclaimer for all things king, but nothing too egregious for him. lots of breasting boobily around and occasional glimpses of the various -isms that get much more screen time in his other stuff.
some of these were really good! the death of jack hamilton, LT’s theory of pets, lunch at the gotham cafe, and that feeling were all hits for me. everything’s eventual (the story) had some good dread. all that you love and the man in the black suit were both fun. all of these benefit from the short story format: there probably could have been more, but i’m glad there wasn’t.
1408 set up the hotel room so well that nothing that happened within could really measure up, imo, so feels a bit anticlimactic. riding the bullet and in the death room were fine. autopsy room four was a miss and luckey quarter was interesting but not well positioned as a final story. the road virus is fun enough, but nothing new. i was a bit annoyed by the 100+ page dark tower insert in the middle of an anthology, though it was interesting enough and i guess if you’re stephen king you can do whatever you want.
i don’t know if these quite scratch the itch for “dark tales,” but they’re definitely good for some dread/existential wondering. think grandpa telling an unsettling story from his youth and then abruptly moving on.
standard disclaimer for all things king, but nothing too egregious for him. lots of breasting boobily around and occasional glimpses of the various -isms that get much more screen time in his other stuff.
some of these were really good! the death of jack hamilton, LT’s theory of pets, lunch at the gotham cafe, and that feeling were all hits for me. everything’s eventual (the story) had some good dread. all that you love and the man in the black suit were both fun. all of these benefit from the short story format: there probably could have been more, but i’m glad there wasn’t.
1408 set up the hotel room so well that nothing that happened within could really measure up, imo, so feels a bit anticlimactic. riding the bullet and in the death room were fine. autopsy room four was a miss and luckey quarter was interesting but not well positioned as a final story. the road virus is fun enough, but nothing new. i was a bit annoyed by the 100+ page dark tower insert in the middle of an anthology, though it was interesting enough and i guess if you’re stephen king you can do whatever you want.
i don’t know if these quite scratch the itch for “dark tales,” but they’re definitely good for some dread/existential wondering. think grandpa telling an unsettling story from his youth and then abruptly moving on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexism
Minor: Racism
Autopsy Room Four 5
This one was very tense; I was so nervous. Really good, though.
The Man in the Black Suit 3.5
Didn’t know what was going on, but that’s kind of a staple in a Stephen King story.
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away 3.5
This one was funny – until it wasn’t.
The Death of Jack Hamilton 3.5
I liked this one enough but had no idea what the fly trick was about.
In the Deathroom 3
Did I like it? Yes. Was I, as a Mexican, a little bit offended? Also yes.
The Little Sisters of Eluria
I´ve never read anything from The Dark Tower, my bad.
Everything's Eventual 4
No powerful being in this universe should be named Dinky.
L.T.'s Theory of Pets 5
This was hilarious. Loved it.
The Road Virus Heads North 5
I was really scared with this one. I´ve never felt like that before with any other horror book, ever.
Lunch at the Gotham Café 4
Kinda funny, kinda dark? What was Guy´s deal?
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French 3.5
I am as clueless as the protagonist was at the end of the story.
1408 5
My God, this was so, so creepy. The hotel manager really got under my skin. What a way to hype your story: by doing it in the story itself.
Riding the Bullet 4
I was expecting something entirely different from what I got, but I wasn’t disappointed.
Luckey Quarter 3
After all that awesomeness, it was a little weak way of ending the anthology.
Overall, I enjoyed the last half of the book more than I did the first. But it was a good read. Reminded me of how much I like Stephen King.
This one was very tense; I was so nervous. Really good, though.
The Man in the Black Suit 3.5
Didn’t know what was going on, but that’s kind of a staple in a Stephen King story.
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away 3.5
This one was funny – until it wasn’t.
The Death of Jack Hamilton 3.5
I liked this one enough but had no idea what the fly trick was about.
In the Deathroom 3
Did I like it? Yes. Was I, as a Mexican, a little bit offended? Also yes.
The Little Sisters of Eluria
I´ve never read anything from The Dark Tower, my bad.
Everything's Eventual 4
No powerful being in this universe should be named Dinky.
L.T.'s Theory of Pets 5
This was hilarious. Loved it.
The Road Virus Heads North 5
I was really scared with this one. I´ve never felt like that before with any other horror book, ever.
Lunch at the Gotham Café 4
Kinda funny, kinda dark? What was Guy´s deal?
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French 3.5
I am as clueless as the protagonist was at the end of the story.
1408 5
My God, this was so, so creepy. The hotel manager really got under my skin. What a way to hype your story: by doing it in the story itself.
Riding the Bullet 4
I was expecting something entirely different from what I got, but I wasn’t disappointed.
Luckey Quarter 3
After all that awesomeness, it was a little weak way of ending the anthology.
Overall, I enjoyed the last half of the book more than I did the first. But it was a good read. Reminded me of how much I like Stephen King.
Libro compuesto por 13 historias.
1. Sala de autopsias número cuatro 9/10
2. Todo lo que amas se te arrebatará 6/10
3. La muerte de Jack Hamilton 6/10
4. En la habitación de la muerte 4/10
5. Las hermanitas de Eluria 7/10
6. Todo es eventual 9/10
7. La teoría de L.T sobre los animales de compañía 9/10
8. El virus de la carretera viaja hacia el norte. 7/10
9. Almuerzo en el café Gotham. 7/10
10. Esa sensación que solo puede expresarse en francés. 7/10
11. 1408 10/10
12. Montando la bala. 7
9/10
13. La moneda de la suerte. 7/10
1. Sala de autopsias número cuatro 9/10
2. Todo lo que amas se te arrebatará 6/10
3. La muerte de Jack Hamilton 6/10
4. En la habitación de la muerte 4/10
5. Las hermanitas de Eluria 7/10
6. Todo es eventual 9/10
7. La teoría de L.T sobre los animales de compañía 9/10
8. El virus de la carretera viaja hacia el norte. 7/10
9. Almuerzo en el café Gotham. 7/10
10. Esa sensación que solo puede expresarse en francés. 7/10
11. 1408 10/10
12. Montando la bala. 7
9/10
13. La moneda de la suerte. 7/10
kind of hard to answer review questions as it is a short story compilation
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some really good ones in here with my highlight being 1408. This one felt like Goosebumps for adults which I was just fine with.
I used to think that Stephen King was schlock, although I really liked Carrie. Then I started reading him and realized how unfair I was. I loved some of these stories and others not so much, but the collection as a whole is very good. Other reviewers listed their favorites and these were mine:
1. Lunch at the Gotham Cafe
2. The Little Sisters of Eluria (because I like the Dark Tower series)
3. The Man in the Black Suit
4. Riding the Bullet
And the introduction.
1. Lunch at the Gotham Cafe
2. The Little Sisters of Eluria (because I like the Dark Tower series)
3. The Man in the Black Suit
4. Riding the Bullet
And the introduction.
I'm a fan of this collection. Several creepy choices to pick from, but my overall favorite is Autopsy Room Four. The suspense and amount of realism just adds to the horror. This book had some great references to some famous tropes and stories and worth reading.
Not sure why the audiobook cuts the book by 2/3 - maybe there are two more parts? Anyway, you can't go wrong w/ a SK audiobook. They're my old reliables for when I need an audiobook!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It should be noted, I only read two of the 14 short stories from this collection on this go around, but I only wanted to read the two because they pertain quite strongly to King's Dark Tower series, which I'm still in the process of reading. However, these two short stories were, as I expected, really good, though in different ways. Everything's Eventual was really clever in all of its slow reveals and in terms of how the story played out, whilst The Little Sisters of Eluria was excellent as a side story to the main Dark Tower series, that whilst not essential to he main story, felt developed and interesting and worthwhile enough for me to consider it having been worth my time. 4.25 stars